Selenes POV
The broken wolf figurine trembled in my bleeding hands.
Something inside me snapped.
“You bitch.”
The growl came out before I even realized I was speaking.
Maris tilted her head,her lips curling in a mock-sweet smile.
“Selene,calm down.It was an accident—”
That word detonated something inside me.
My hand moved faster than thought.
The slap cracked through the den like a whip.
Maris stumbled back,clutching her cheek,her eyes wide in disbelief—she had never expected the Luna of Silvermoon to strike her.
“You don’t get to touch her things!”I shouted,my throat raw.“You don’t get to destroy what’s left of my pup!”
“Selene!”
Lucians voice thundered from the doorway.
He stormed in,fury in every stride,and pulled Maris into his arms as if shielding her from me.
“She hit me,”Maris whimpered,tears shimmering on command.
I stood there,chest heaving,the broken figurine shaking in my grip.
“What the hell is wrong with you?”Lucian roared.
“She broke Jasmine’s charm stone!”I cried,pointing at the shattered shards.“She did it on purpose!”
“Enough!”His growl shook the air.“You sound insane—jealous,bitter,pathetic!Look at you,raging at a pregnant she-wolf who has what you never could!”
The words hit harder than claws.
But he wasn’t done.
“It’s not her fault your pup is gone,Selene.Maybe if you’d been a better mother—”
“Don’t you dare!”I screamed.“Don’t you dare blame me!”
His eyes darkened,and his wolf surged forward.
The backhand came fast.
The impact sent me crashing to the floor.My vision blurred.My cheek burned,but humiliation burned hotter.
Maris gasped dramatically,her hands over her mouth,her eyes wide with fake horror—but I saw the satisfaction lurking there.
My fingers brushed my throbbing cheek.
Lucian stood frozen,breathing hard,shock flickering in his gaze as if he hadn’t meant to strike me.
“Selene—”
“Oh,Lucian,”Maris interrupted,collapsing against him.“This is all my fault.I never should’ve come here.Selene was right—I bring nothing but pain.”
Her trembling voice filled the room.Crocodile tears streamed down her cheeks.
“Maybe I should just end it.Take this pup with me—then you’ll both be free.”
Lucians panic was instant.He crushed her against his chest.
“Don’t say that!Don’t ever say that.You and the pup are everything.”
I stared from the floor,tasting blood and disgust.
Mariss tears were fake—but Lucians devotion was real.
He glared down at me.
“Look what you’ve done.She’s terrified,she’s blaming herself—because of you.”
“Because of me?”My voice cracked.“She—”
“Enough!”Lucians growl echoed off the walls.“You’re not yourself.You’re becoming dangerous.”
Maris whimpered again,clutching her stomach.
“Lucian…it hurts.”
That was all it took.
Lucians fury returned tenfold.His wolf’s aura flared.
“You’re staying in here until you learn control,”he snarled.“I won’t let you hurt her—or this pup.”
Before I could move,he wrapped his arm around Maris and dragged her out,slamming the heavy wooden door behind them.The lock clicked.
“No!”
I threw myself at the door,pounding my fists against it.
“Lucian!Don’t you dare lock me in!Open this door!”
No answer.
“Lucian!”
My voice cracked.“Please!You can’t do this!”
Only silence answered.
I was trapped in the upper den—the old Alpha chamber,high above the pack hall.No windows large enough to break through,no passage out.
Minutes bled into hours.I screamed until my throat shredded.
I called his comm-stone again and again until the connection severed—blocked.
The air grew cold.Hunger gnawed,thirst clawed at my throat.
The scent of my own blood lingered in the room from where glass had sliced my palms.
I sank to the floor,back against the wall,trembling with fury.
He had locked me up like a rogue.
He had chosen her—the thief who carried my daughter’s stolen heart.
In the silence,my wolf stirred deep inside me.Her voice was low,ancient,patient.
He’s no Alpha.He’s prey.
I pressed my hand to my stomach.The faint heartbeat pulsed beneath my palm—steady,defiant.
Our pup will never know chains.
For the first time since Jasmine’s death,I didn’t cry.
I smiled.
The Redfangs would come for me.
And when they did,Silvermoon would burn.
